Page 36 of Risky Bet

“Excellent choice,” he murmured as he bit into it.

“If you’re not going to talk to me, I’m leaving, and you can rot in jail for all I care.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m going to talk. I just need a minute to gather my thoughts, please.”

She snagged her own slice of pizza and ate while she waited.

“Another company wanting to join forces on a community outreach project that could make a lot of money approached me about property investment and neighborhood improvement here and in Phoenix. The deal seemed off to me, but I’m a believer in letting my board vet things. I have them for a reason. Ultimately, most of us decided it was a terrible idea, and we severed the negotiation process with the company. There were a handful of board members who wanted to hear more, but they ultimately fell in line. At least that’s what I thought.”

He stood and walked to the fridge where he pulled out a bottled juice.

“Want one?” he asked from behind the fridge door.

She shook her head. “I’ll have a beer though.”

He grimaced. He would kill for a beer right now, but it wasn’t worth going to jail over and they’d already proven they would check.

“A few months ago, news broke about what the company was doing and the way it screwed a lot of people over. They were getting small time investors to invest in a variety of neighborhood improvement projects as if they already had permits and permission. They were also keeping an inaccurate count of their debt and income, so on paper it looked like everyone involved was going to make money. Then one of the most expensive deals they were peddling completely fell through and all their debt came due. It basically screwed all the small-time investors like your mom out of their money.

“The state attorneys in Arizona and in Nevada started an investigation and promised to bring charges. I was supportive of this and even offered to give the investigators my records of our attempted negotiation with the company. Then contracts emerged that showed my company was covering a portion of their debt at around twenty-five percent. I did not approve these contracts, but my name was on them. They filed charges against me in Nevada. The state of Arizona has opted not to charge me at this time, but they still might.”

She blew out a breath. “This is a lot to take in, Memphis. I don’t even understand it all. Are you saying someone set you up?”

“Someone or perhaps multiple people on my board and within my company went behind my back and signed the deal because they thought it would bring in a lot of revenue and the possibility of expansion into a new field.”

“Who did it?”

He shook his head. “We’ve been pouring through documents for weeks trying to figure that out. Only today we came up with some things that might point us in the right direction.”

“What were those things?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’m not willing to answer that.”

“Then I’m not staying. You answer all my questions, or I’m gone.”

He sighed. “It was an e-mail thread between Andrew and someone from the other company. I can show you if you’re interested.”

“And when did you figure out that my mom was one of the people who got screwed over?”

“Just today. I swear.”

She nodded, seemingly satisfied with that.

“I want to believe you. But I need to know that you understand just how fucked up some of your actions were.”

He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. “I swear, Rylee. I get it. This whole situation is fucked up and Hunter was probably right. I’m not thinking straight.”

“Is it going to be a problem for your defense if I’m here?”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “My attorney might say yes, but I don’t care. I want to make restitution to the families who were hurt.”

She toyed with the beer he’d handed her.

“But if your story is true, it wasn’t your fault.”

“It is, though. If I’d had a more watchful eye on the people around me, that contract wouldn’t have been signed without my knowledge.”

“I did some research into you. Your company is massive. I’m not saying you’re without fault, but it seems like it would be impossible for you to have your eye on everything at all times.”

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